South Korean Kim Hye-Youn picked up the fifth hole-in-one of her career on Saturday morning during the weather-delayed second round of the World Ladies Championship.
The 26-year-old used a 7-iron on the Olazabal Course’s 17th hole for the ace, at Mission Hills Resort Dongguan in China.
It’s a country she seems to relish, since the 10th season Korean LPGA member twice won the China Ladies Open at Xiamen Oriental Golf Club, in 2010 and 2011.
Kim signed for opening rounds of 75 and 71 to be tied for 28th place at two-over-par at the tournament’s halfway stage.
Meanwhile her namesake Kim Bo-Kyung sat atop of the leader board with a one stroke lead on five-under-par after the second round, as first round leader Ji Han Sol, who played three holes in two-under-par on Friday evening, completed a second round of level par 72.
She was tied for second with Ko Jin-young, who is representing South Korea in the team event with Lee Jung Min this week. With a combined score of five-under-par, the pair hold a seven stroke lead over French pair Céline Herbin and Gwladys Nocera in the team event, with Chinese Taipei lying third.
Herbin completed an impressive second round of 70 on Saturday morning to share fourth place on three-under-par with Lin Tzu-Chi of Chinese Taipei, Liu Yu of China and Lee Seung Hyun.
Having won the Lacoste Ladies Open de France in September, Herbin is looking for her second individual victory, but she is also motivated by playing in the team competition.
She said: “I had a good week off in Dubai where I could practice in very good conditions. It was good for me, after three weeks in Australia and New Zealand.
“I did a lot of work outs and I try to maintain it. Now I’m doing more during the tournaments and I feel stronger than two or three years ago. We travel a lot and being fit helps you to recover from the jet lag. I can feel since last year that my body got stronger in order to bear all this travelling.”
Another motivation is qualification for the Olympic Games in August.
“It’s true that we have the Olympics this year and everybody has the Olympics on their mind. We will see what happens. I have two very good players in front of me in the French team. I hope that Karine Icher will win on the LPGA because she has a good chance to be in the top 15, which means that three French players could play in the Olympics. For the moment, I’m not, but also majors. I’m going to play Evian for the first time, so it’s a very exciting year for me. The best schedule that I’ve had in front of me since I’ve been a professional.
“The Olympic Games is only 60 players and I really think it’s a pity they couldn’t make it bigger, like 100. It would have opened it to more people. I think it would be nice to have a bigger field. Everyone is trying to improve their own game so they are getting better.”
